Dinner in the Sky, Delray Beach

Talk about dinner with a view. On October 20, Dinner in the Sky, named one of the "Most Unusual Restaurants in the World" by Forbes Magazine, will raise guests a towering 180-feet off the ground, securely affixed to their chair, in Delray Beach’s Old Square Park for a multi-course meal by Italian restaurant Caffe Luna Rosa and sushi specialists, Candyfish at Union.

The Brussels-based concept is truly a unique dining experience. Suspended by a crane, 22 diners are seated around a large rectangular table with a staff of three in the middle who keep the meal moving along. Bus boys arrive via jetpacks, and for restroom breaks, simply gear up and repel down…I kid, but that would be sweet!

For those afraid of heights, this meal isn’t for you. But for those with a penchant for al fresco dining though a little hesitant of eating aloft, fear not. A 130-ton crane will lift the table to a resting point of 180-feet. At five and half tons itself (without guests), the table will remain stable and for the most part stationary (there won’t be any Pit and the Pendulum action taking place here). As for guest safety, each patron is locked into a Nascar-esque racing seat with a four-point seat belt. Surprisingly, guests have free range of motion (to an extent), with a 180-degree rotation of the seat, so they can swivel from one neighbor to the other with relative ease.

Dinner in the Sky will offer unparalleled views of Delray Beach. Diners will tower over their surroundings, with the tallest buildings in their sight, Seagate’s north and south towers, reaching a meager 13 floors and coming in at just under 140-feet tall. Diners will have unobstructed views of the beaches, the penthouses of said Seagate Towers (close your blinds folks) and of I-95 (traffic helicopters be damned).

There will be only four seatings for the October 20 Diner in the Sky event (5:30, 7, 8:30 and 10 p.m.), alternating between menus from Delray Beach’s own Caffe Luna Rosa and Candyfish at Union. Caffe Luna Rosa's three course menu (5:30 and 8:30 seatings) starts with a fresh Maine lobster and lump crab cocktail; the main course is a carnivore’s delight: Prime dry aged center-cut filet with fingerling potatoes and garden fresh vegetables; while dessert, a triple chocolate panache, just might put you in a cocoa coma. For the sushi aficionado, Candyfish’s seatings (7 and 10 p.m.) are a dream come true. The four-course meal starts with a tuna sashimi salad, followed by yellowtail sashimi topped with jalapeno and yuzu soy. The third course is a sushi roll spectacular, with the Honey Walnut Shrimp Roll, Uber Sexy Steve (named for me, holler) and High Roller all making an appearance. The meal is capped with a house made chocolate cake sprinkled with vodka-infused gummi fish.

At $500 a person $350 per person (price reduction) it’s a bit pricy, but this is more experience than meal. Seating is limited to just 88 people—22 per seating—and diners must weigh less than 225 pounds and stand at least 4’ 11” to ride.